Acoustic cavitation in a microchannel #4

Abstract

Cavitation in confined geometries, such as microfluidic channels, allows an unprecedentedly detailed look on their dynamics with a much better control as compared to cavitation in the bulk. Another advantage is that only small amounts of fluids are required. In these geometries, single or a few laser-generated bubbles are utilized for fundamental liquid processing such as mixing, sorting, and pumping. For acoustic cavitation, the bubbles need to be either injected a priori or generated through an entrainment process. Then cavitation can be utilized for emulsions, to lyse cells, to generate light (sonoluminescence), and to initiate chemical reactions. This review presents a summary of the effects of confinement on the bubble dynamics and how they can be utilized for research and applications.